To the Editor:
I am a retired public school teacher after 26 years of teaching and coaching in Middle Schools, and have been a taxpayer from Waterford for 22 years. Also, I have been a substitute teacher in the district for about 2 years.
I have a suggestion for MSAD 17 and any other organization that chooses to operate with a top-down administrative model where the person at the top has absolute power. We know for a fact that “absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
Why don’t we just stop giving the Superintendent of schools absolute power, especially the power to hire and fire without the Board of Directors’ approval? This power only creates fear and distrust. It destroys any possibility of having an educational community.
Of course, some employees should have fear of losing their jobs if they are not fulfilling their responsibilities, but that doesn’t mean everyone should live in fear. Work with that person to correct the problem and ask them to leave if it doesn’t work out; no need for ego-driven power/control tactics.
The declared mission of our school district is “to prepare students to graduate as healthy, responsible, and productive citizens, ready to succeed in our global societies”. To accomplish that goal, is there any logical, rational, intelligent reason to give absolute power to any one person?!?
Isn’t this a perfect time to change the structure under which MSAD 17 operates? From what I have heard and seen, we have some very intelligent people on the Board of Directors that could surely come up with a system that does not create fear, but gives a meaningful voice to the teachers and ALL staff AND the students!
As a taxpayer, I am formally requesting the MSAD 17 Board of Directors to consider changing the “power” structure of MSAD 17 in a way that will create a community of learners and educators rather than an atmosphere of fear that shuts down creativity! Create a system that shows trust, respect, and support for all members of the staff, including custodians, bus drivers, support staff, and teachers. Allowing one person to have absolute power does NOT make sense!
Robert Dow
Waterford
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